


Day 13: Crystal Catacombs

by airiustide



Series: Zutara Month 2017: Prompts [12]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Romance, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 21:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airiustide/pseuds/airiustide
Summary: A twist to the crystal catacombs scene. Zuko is injured and instead of being angry at first, Katara rushes to his side to heal him.





	Day 13: Crystal Catacombs

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

 

Katara paced back and forth. Her palms sweaty and finger twitching in anticipation. She was anxious. Distraught, pursing her lips so tight she could taste the copper of blood seeping through her cracked, chapped lips. She wasn't so much worried about herself as she was Aang. He needed to learn how to reach the Avatar State and if he knew she was in trouble, it would hinder all the progress they've made over the course of a year.

The waterbender willed herself to calm down. As long as Aang was safe, that was all that mattered. Her life wasn't more important than that of the world's. She knew there was a chance anything could go wrong the first day her and Sokka went to rescue Aang from Zuko. It wasn't easy, but she would have to except that her choices led her here.

Katara snapped her head up when she heard the sound of rock sliding.

"You've got company." A voice rang down.

"Ah!"

Katara gasped when a body fell to the ground. "Zuko!" Her face began to contort but relaxed, wide eyed, when Zuko began to groan and grip his shoulder. Blood soaked through a slit in the sleeve and down his arm, dripping from his hand. "Spirits! What happened?!"

The Fire Nation prince only growled in response as he brought his knees to his chest whilst gripping the sleeve around his wound harder.

Now Katara began to panic. She hadn't a single shred of sympathy for Zuko but she wasn't one to abandon a person in need. Searching around the catacombs for water, Katara found there was none. Maybe if she ventured further, she might find a puddle or something. "I-I'll be back, stay put!" she told him. Jogging towards the back of the catacombs, she thought she heard a strangled chuckle.

It didn't take much time before she came across a large pool of water not far from where they were imprisoned. Her mouth agape in awe at how clear it was and how the crystals reflected beautifully in the pool. Shaking her head, Katara ran back to where Zuko lied.

"Come on," she grunted, lifting his arm over neck, not realizing just how much taller he was than her, "There's a body of water not far from here. I can heal you there."

He tried to remove his arm from around her neck, and she told him to stop when he wouldn't quit squirming. "I don't need your help!" Zuko bit, voice horse. "Let me down!"

"Look, that wound is pretty bad and could very well get infected. There's no telling what they plan on doing with us afterwards and I doubt they care for your wellbeing enough to get you a healer. So, either you let me heal you or you can suffer. And I assure you the latter will be fatal."

Zuko pursed his lips and shut his eyes tight. "Let's get this over with." He hissed between clenched teeth.

Once they reached the pool, Katara carried him into the water. "Remove your robe, I'll need you on your back. Relax, I've got you. The gash on your shoulder is pretty deep."

Zuko complied reluctantly but did as he was told. Katara helped him remove it and his face went flush when the robe brushed over his wound. She could tell he was refraining from expressing his pain. He floated on his back per her instructions and she pulled him further into the pool.

Allowing her hand to glow, Katara gently covered it over the wound. She hissed at how awful it was. She could heal it, but it was so damaged, it would most likely leave a scar.

"Why did they throw you in here?" she whispered loud enough for him to hear.

He only averted his gold eyes to look up at her but didn't respond.

"Let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!" her voice rose. Injured or not, she was angry and yet he still gave her no reply. "You're a terrible person! You know that? Al-" She broke, overwhelmed by the various emotions running through her. "You have no idea what this war has put me through." She sobbed quietly, a tear running down her cheek and landing on Zuko's. "The Fire Nation took my mother away…"

Zuko's heart tightened. He felt the air between them shift from the statement she made about what happened to her mother. That was something the banished prince was all too familiar with. "I'm sorry…That's something we have in common."

They were silent for a moment as Katara allowed his words to sink in.

"I'm sorry I yelled-"

"It doesn't matter!" He snapped.

His tone would've had her ready to drown him but she could clearly see the exhaustion on his face. "It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face."

Zuko closed his eyes, taking in the feel of how her healing patched ever cell of his skin. "My face..."

He felt Katara remove her hand from his newly healed shoulder and gently placed it over his scar. "That's not what I meant…" her voice shook. "In my tribe, a scar is a badge of honor, Zuko. It tells a story. It is not a sign of weakness."

Before Zuko could analyze her words, his breath caught in his throat when he felt something soft brush his scarred cheek. Then another. Then another. Until he felt it on his eyelid. Then his temple. Then stopped at his marred ear. "It's okay to accept that part of yourself. You don't need anyone's approval to be proud of your scar."

Zuko lips parted, opening his eyes and moaned at the feel of Katara's lips on his.


End file.
